Young masters: With skill and passion beyond their years, musically gifted children are still children

Saturday February 02, 2008, 12:00 AM

Tracy Boulian/The Plain DealerViolinist Alena Merimee, 15, expects she'll always play the violin, regardless of whether she becomes a professional musician. She's playing Beethoven's "Spring" Sonata in her "From the Top" performance.

PREVIEWFrom the TopWhat: An episode of the NPR kids 'n' classical music radio program that was taped at the Cleveland Institute of Music. When: 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9. Where: WCLV FM/104.9.

Musical prodigies are confounding to ordinary folk. Even adults who took piano lessons struggle to understand how a child who can't even drive a car can exercise complete control when she picks up her violin to play Beethoven. Extreme talent and dedication can make a young person seem like an exotic species -- an impression the people from Boston-based "From the Top" radio show work hard to dispel.

They'll do a little dispelling again Saturday, Feb. 9, when WCLV FM/104.9 airs an installment of the program that was taped in December at the Cleveland Institute of Music's new Mixon Hall.

"From the Top" founder Gerald Slavet came here with the team that produced the program, which in Cleveland featured seven young musicians. "They're just like any other teenagers, except they have an extraordinary level of discipline, passion and focus," Slavet said.

The radio show is one of several missions of the nonprofit Boston organization called From the Top, which spends about $5.5 million a year to celebrate and nurture classical music among children 18 and younger.

The one-hour radio shows are recorded at music halls around the country. Last year, From the Top also debuted a half-hour TV series recorded at Carnegie Hall.

The host of both shows is Christopher O'Riley, a pianist who, when he's not traveling with the show or to play a concert, happens to live in Sagamore Hills.

Skill and passion beyond their years

When necessary, O'Riley accompanies the young guests on piano. At Mixon Hall, that meant following 15-year-old violinist Alena Merimee from Strongsville as she performed the first movement of Beethoven's "Spring" Sonata. O'Riley also backed trombone player Joseph Hudson of Kentucky on Arthur Pryor's "Thoughts of Love."

In a dress rehearsal for the Cleveland show, O'Riley and his guests seemed tuned into one another.

Lonnie Timmons III/The Plain DealerThe Hoopes siblings of Shaker Heights play during a sound check for "On the Top," the classical-music radio show that focuses on young musicians. From left: Alexandra, Chad and Anna Hoopes.

"I'm coming from the former standpoint of a jazz pianist," O'Riley says. "It's really not that hard to follow. It's only hard to follow if you have another agenda, and then you're not really listening. I like to think I'm still growing and still learning."

But his most important job isn't necessarily at the keyboard. After the musicians have performed their pieces (selected by the show's staffers from the student's repertoire), O'Riley chats with them to draw out their personalities. Talk turns to music, yes, but also to messy bedrooms or favorite sports.

Occasionally, the performers participate in short scripted skits, like the one that imagined 11-year-old pianist Daniel Song of Pennsylvania -- who dreams of being a performer, a pro baseball player and a physician -- rushing from the operating room to the baseball field to a concert.

"It's become obvious that these kids have other interests," O'Riley says. "As exclusive and elite as some people consider classical music . . . it's a part of the lives of our guests, but it's not the only part. I think audiences need to be told that."

That can be difficult to grasp, because these accomplished young musicians are so accomplished. O'Riley and Slavet acknowledge that the world has accelerated compared with years ago. It's common enough to see a 10- or 12-year-old playing like a 16-year-old, Slavet said.

Lonnie Timmons III/The Plain DealerChristopher O'Riley hosts the syndicated radio show "From the Top," which came to the Cleveland Institute of Music in December to record a program that will air at 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9 on WCLV-FM/104.9.

There's also a more robust community aspect to music now, O'Riley says. When he was younger, music tended to be a more solitary pursuit. Today he sees youth orchestras and a "team ideal" that helps young players thrive in a musical environment.

"From the Top" generally selects five acts per one-hour radio show. Kids send in audition tapes that are supposed to show a range in repertoire and performance. Guests are selected for musicianship, but producers also aim to put together a show with diverse kids, instruments and music. (The Saturday broadcast also features the Playing Hoopes Trio of Shaker Heights.)

In the end, beautiful music is usually made -- along with some onstage chemistry.